Some of Harvey Jones’ monster creations are funny with smiling faces. Others are a bit scarier. A few have just one eye or a set of sharp, pointy teeth. Harvey is just 3-years-old, but has spent the last few months painting and personalizing ceramic magnets at Painted Plate.
Ever since Harvey received a gift certificate to Painted Plate for Christmas, he and his mother Stephanie have taken the DASH shuttle to downtown Olympia, a few times a week to foster his creativity. The magnets are shaped like miniature horned monsters (some are shaped like octopi, but Harvey thinks those are monster-like, as well). Each monster is decorated according to his personal color and design choices. The first monster Harvey made, Burpy, is red with yellow polka dots—he lives on the Jones family’s fridge.
When Stephanie first saw how much Harvey enjoyed creating the magnets, she started brainstorming, hoping they could continue their Painted Plate visits but keep the process affordable. She has a personal history with Seattle Children’s Hospital, where her sister spent a lot of time as a child, so she suggested to Harvey that they sell his monster magnets (or “Fridge Friends”) and donate some of the proceeds to the hospital.
“For a while I had been thinking about how we could do a donation to Children’s,” she says. When she did the math, she realized they could keep making magnets and at the same time, “we could teach Harvey the meaning of giving to other people.”
“I told Harvey that we can paint monsters if we give the money that we’re painting them for to the kids at the hospital. And he was totally on board.” Stephanie says the concept that stuck with Harvey in their discussion was the fact that some kids are so sick that they don’t get to go home—they have to live at the hospital. “I didn’t think he was totally going to get it, but that part really hit him, in his world and way of understanding.”
Seattle Children’s allows donors to choose what their money will be used for, so Stephanie and Harvey decided that 25% of the monster proceeds will go to the hospital’s “greatest need” fund.
Stephanie has been able to use this project to support Harvey’s creativity, while teaching him important lessons about hard work and giving back to people. And the response has been overwhelmingly positive; when Stephanie advertised Harvey’s magnets on her Facebook page, the first batch sold out almost immediately. Now she and Harvey have secured a table at Spring Arts Walk in downtown Olympia. They have scored a prime spot right in front of the Captain Little on 5th Ave during the April 22 – 23 event.
When Painted Plate heard about the project, which the Joneses are calling Little Friend Creations, they were generous enough to give the family a discounted price, allowing them to make an even bigger donation. They also provided Harvey with a piggy bank, so he can accept additional donations even if he sells all of his monsters (he’ll have painted about 100 by then).
Stephanie and Harvey recently gave a radio interview on Seattle’s 107.7 The End and were featured on the show’s website, which will hopefully bring even more people out to their table during Arts Walk. Though Stephanie doesn’t expect their final donation to be huge, the more important thing is the lesson her son is learning through this experience.
Harvey and Stephanie will be selling Harvey’s Fridge Friends at Spring Arts Walk on Friday, April 22 from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 23 from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m. Each magnet sells for $6, or 4 magnets for $20.
